I am finally up to date with the reviews of the dramas I watched. And as you can see I'm way behind with the current ones. I have to squeeze them somehow in my busy schedule.
1. Squad 38 (Unit 38) - At the beginning watching the schemes was interesting (even though when Baek Sung-Il (Ma Dong-Seok) was schemed, I was annoyed and angry),
but then, when they repeated them several times, it became boring. The corruption was
inspired from real life, the rest felt like science fiction. Seo In-Guk was
cheeky, fearless and had a charm, but he couldn’t win me over. It was hard for
me to finish it.
2. On the Way to the Airport – I liked it a lot. I didn’t care that it
was an affair, because the respective spouses were so despicable. In Choi
Soo-A’s (Kim Ha-Neul ) case the communication with her husband
was nonexistent, it was more like parallel monologues. He was self absorbed and
inconsiderate, I would call him even despotic. Seo Do-Woo (Lee Sang-Yoon ) was a nice guy, a good husband, a good
father, but he was manipulated and lied to, shut out from his wife’s real life
and his feelings were ignored. At first Choi Soo-A and Seo Do-Woo offered comfort to each other, then
became soulmates, and ultimately lovers. The story was well told. It was
sad but romantic, a melodrama without tears. It’s a must watch.
3. Shopping King Louie – It was entertaining. I can’t understand
the thrill of getting the first of a limited edition product or a designer
thing with all costs, but I could relate to Louie in having an eye for the
quality stuff. Sometimes the funny was at the border of lame. Cha
Joong-Won’s fashion was hilarious, still
it was worn with so much confidence by Yoon
Sang-Hyun that made it okay. In this show Seo In-Guk was
more likable than in Squad 38, and he could show a wider acting range. Ko
Bok-Sil (Nam
Ji-Hyun) was consistent and persevering throughout the show, but I felt
only pity for her.
4. The K2 – The fight scenes were extremely long, I
usually like them but here I was like ’When will it end? Aren’t they tired? How
much more beating can they take?’ It was almost boring. And when I found myself
rooting for the less corrupt politician, it was a painful deja vu. Was like
real life and I hated it. Ji Chang Wook’s character was a pawn in the story
that was a really complicated chess game. I would have liked him to have more
lines and less action scenes. Lee Jung Jin was so great in his role, he was
creepy. A real match for his ’sister’, Song Yoon-A who was 4 dimensional with a
soft spot for K2. Like lots of us.
5. Goblin – It was an epic show. With so many
insightful moments and even more funny ones and jokes, for me it was a match of
genres made in heaven. I loved it. The Goblin (Gong Yoo) and the Grim Reaper (Lee Dong-Wook) were so good together, and when they
added Yoo Duk Hwa (Yook Sung-Jae), the ’nephew’ in the same scene it was frenetic. I
didn’t feel the romance between Kim Shin and Jin Eun Tak (Kim Go-Eun), she looked more like a niece than a
love interest of the Goblin. But the Grim Reaper and Sunny (Yoo In-Na) had great chemistry, there were sparkles
in the air when they were together in a scene, it was believable that they once shared
a love story. The first episodes of 90 minutes didn’t feel long and the storytelling
wasn’t draggy for me. Lee El’s mask as an old woman was a masterpiece, and Park
Joong Hun’s ghost made me have nightmares. Worth even rewatching.
6. Legend of the Blue Sea – It exceeded my expectations which were
high. The first few episodes shoot in Spain were hilarious, then when they got
back to South Korea I was in a constant fear so that the mermaid, Shim
Chung not to be discovered. And then
not to be caught. It was interesting and fun to watch, I wasn’t bored for a
moment. Jun Ji Hyun and Lee Min Ho were great together, they had so much
chemistry that I had the impression that Lee Min Ho fell for Jun Ji Hyun for
real. That kiss at the end was longer and deeper than necessary. And all the
cast was spot on. I was loving this show so much that I planned to paint a vase
or a glass bottle with Heo Joon Jae and Shim Chung like the one in the drama. I just didn’t have time for that yet.
7. Jealousy Incarnate – Gong Hyeo Jin was typecast again. Her
character was a whiny, mopey pushover. At times she reminded me of Pasta. I
think something must be wrong with the writer’s head, because no sane person
would make a comedy out of cancer and tumor. This bugged me so much that I
halted watching the show for several months. I know too many people who have
died of it or are still struggling with it to consider it funny. And when I
finally decide to continue to watch, it was this laughing at the funeral,
practically in the face of someone who lost his brother and was devastated.
WTF?! Let’s say that the writer and the PD wants to be seen as a nonconformist
and to smash some taboos, but in this way? They are completely wrong. I get the
educational purpose, but still. And don’t get me started about the male lead’s
assy behavior. After the 8th episode it becomes watchable if you suddenly get amnesia.
8. Nightmare Teacher – I was expecting something entirely
different. But ultimately it wasn’t bad. It was a supernatural psycho-thriller.
I caught on early that the teacher picked the insecure students with a -
how should I call it – weakness, addiction? Maybe obsession. Those who had something
that was very important to them. And played with them a game they couldn’t win. After a
time it wasn’t that creepy. This webdrama’s editing and filming was minimalist
and simplistic compared to TV dramas.
